Through Desert and Flame
by Rytex
Summary: As Link and Midna contuinue to search for the Mirror of Twilight, their relationship starts to blossom beyond warrior and helper.  But an encounter with an encampment of Bulbins might push it far past what they had originally settled for.  One-shot, WAFF.


**Apologies to those of you waiting on The Royal Ball, but I got paid a substantial amount of money from a friend through a bet that I couldn't write a one-shot 2k-word story about Link and Midna, that is WAFF and with a fight scene and post it all within a weekend, so I am here to claim my reward from him. Don't worry about TRB, because I FINALLY RECOVERED THE STORY! and I am writing it the way I had it as fast as I can. Please be patient just a little longer, loyal readers.**

**But without further ado, i present my MidLink one-shot.**

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**Through Desert and Flame  
**  
Link sighed as the stolen Bulbo trotted along slowly toward their makeshift campsite. They had been in the desert for a few days now, trying to circumnavigate the watchful Bulbin encampment.

However, after a few days of recon and observation, they were no closer to finding a way around them than they were to restoring peace to Hyrule.

Link sighed again as he plopped down and started making a campfire to eat his dinner. At times, he considered going back to Kakariko Village to eat, or even Ordon. But here, his highest priority was to make sure that the Bulbins didn't raid his campsite.

His shadow quivered and Midna jumped out.

"Why haven't we found a way around them yet?" asked the imp, plopping down next to him.

"Nayru knows." he grumbled.

"Why not just charge right on in and mow them down? You have the Hawkeye. You could just snipe them from a distance if you wanted to."

"True. I'd love to try it, but for now, I'd rather NOT alert Zant as to where I'm headed."

"Good point." she said.

A horn blew across the desert.

Link dove under a sand pile into such a way so that he was camouflaged and could watch what was happening.

King Bulbin and Lord Bulbo were riding toward the Bulbin encampment.

As the day became night, they finihed eating and put the fire out.

Link groaned as a bruise from his rather hard landing on the rock in the desert throbbed.

"Dont you have any red potion?" she asked.

"No. And I'm rather low on rupees. I suppose if I manage to find a few I may go buy some, but I'd rather not."

As they finished setting up their nightly concealment (aka a sand pile around their campsite), Link decided he'd turn in.

Midna normally slept in Link's shadow, so she stayed up later.

As she sat by the fire, her thoughts turned to Link. He had been responsible for saving her. How quickly her opinion of him changed was rivaled only by how fast a bombskit could run on the ground. But maybe he only did it so that he wasn't stuck as a wolf forever. Who knew but Nayru what he really wanted?

Then her thoughts turned to how he was around that farm girl, Ilia. How she wished he would feel that way toward her.

She blushed lightly as she thought of him stripped to the waist. It was a wonder he was still a virgin (assuming of course that he was a virgin. Then again, if he was the gentlemanly hero he seemed, maybe it wasn't so surprising).

Meanwhile, Link was thinking about Midna. He had noticed that after he had leapt up and took the shard of darkness to his head that her entire attitude toward him had changed. And rather quickly too. She had gone from being totally sarcastic and an annoying whiny spoiled princessy Twili to being an almost selfless one.

Not to mention she was kind of cute.

Link was divinely thankful that Midna couldn't read his mind in human form. She'd probably hate him forever if she saw what he was thinking now.

That morning, Link decided to do exactly what Midna had suggested and charge the base and snipe them all.

He approached their advance guard quietly and pulled his bow out.

He pulled the Hawkeye on over his face and zoomed in on the two Bulbins happily chatting on their wooden towers, oblivious to the grim reaper that was about to let loose his arrows. Link let go of the first arrow. It struck the first Bulbin in the back and it toppled over silently. The other looked around in shock and alertness. As it turned around, Link shot it too.

He charged the main encampment and pulled another arrow out of his quiver.

He ducked behind the wreckage of a building and aimed out barely.

Three Bulbins were looking around and chatting.

Link pulled out a firecracker that usually was tied to an arrow and pulled the cone that made the head of the rocket off.

He pulled out a small black hollow rock that Barnes had made for him and poured the powder into it. He capped the rock with the cap of a bomb and inserted a small fuse.

He lit it and tossed the makeshift bomb around.

The Bulbins looked at it curiously.

Then it exploded, incinerating two of them, but the third managed to survive the blast. The Bulbin tried to crawl away in a pathetic state. The explosion was surprisingly quiet, though a relatively large amount of powder was used.

Link stabbed the Bulbin in the gave with an arrow and poked his head around the corner.

One tower stood above a motley collection of tents and posts with Bulbos secured to them.

He shot the Bulbin on top of the tower. It fell onto a campfire. The Bulbins there were momentarily stunned by the fall, allowing Link to run in and behead the lot of them.

He was making progress.

He passed a path to the place Midna wanted him to go to, which was blocked off by wreckage.

He was in a second area to the encampment.

He saw two towers. The guards were facing away from each other. Link shot them quietly. The other Bulbins were happily poking at a Bulbo roasting over a campfire and didn't notice.

Link threw another mini-bomb in at them and they were blown away. None survived the blast this time.

He searched the bodies and found a key on one.

Link had noticed a locked door to the center ruined building.

He unlocked the door and entered to find King Bulbin sitting down, eating a cut of meat.

It looked over its shoulder and simply grunted.

Link edged forward cautiously.

King Bulbin then cut another slice from a huge cooked Bulbo. Instead of eating it, the huge beast put it on a carved wooden platter and offered it to Link.

"Is that... for me?" Link asked.

The beast gave a curt nod.

"Why?"

It thought for a moment, then wrote words in the sand.

I am an honorable fighter. I will only fight my challenger in top condition. I saw that you did not eat this morning. If it is to be fair, you must eat and be satisfied.

Midna popped out of his shadow.

"Can we trust him?"

"No idea."

The massive Bulbin pulled a small bottle of liquid Link recognized as poison negater. The message was clear: to prove that I did nothing, sprinkle this on your meat.

"Can you speak?" Link asked.

The Bulbin nodded.

"Can you speak Hylian?"

It nodded again.

Then it spoke in a rather harsh, gutteral voice.

"I am not as unintelligent as you seem to believe, young Hylian."

Link was taken aback.

"Why offer me food?"

"I explained earlier."

"But aren't you my enemy?"

"I do not see you as an enemy, but merely as an assignment and a chance to prove myself. When we first clashed, you proved yourself strong. I am honored to have met a worthy opponent. Therefore, I swore after you passed the second test to never attempt to cheat you. However, I cannot stop my brethren from attempting to kill you."

It wiped its mouth. Link ate quickly. The meat was oddly spicy, but good. Link felt his exhaustion lost in the desert heat vanish instantly.

"Are you ready?"

Link stood up and removed his sword.

"Yeah."

"Good."

King Bulbin strode into a back chamber and retrieved a huge axe.

"Are you amenable to this weapon?"

"Yes."

"Then let us fight."

The Bulbin roared his challenge.

Link ran forward and jumped out of the way of an incoming axe swing.

He rolled around and used a back slice, which opened up its defenses nicely.

The cycle repeated itself for several moments as they sparred.

Soon, the Bulbin held up a hand and groaned "Enough."

It went into the same corner as his axe had been in and mounted a silhouetted Lord Bulbo.

"We'll meet again. Count on it."

It rode off into the desert.

At that point, a Bulbo rode by. On its back were two Bulbins. One shot a fire arrow at the building.

The curtain the arrow struck ignited.

Link tried to run out the same way King Bulbin had, but beams fell and blocked his path. The door he had entered from was similarly blocked. Midna was panicking and floating around the room, looking for a way out, screaming curses directed mainly at Zant.

Link switched to wolf form to see if he could sense a way out.

Then he saw a Bulbo in the corner.

He was about to revert when there came a monstrous crashing sound. A huge beam fell from place and hit Link's head as it landed.

Link fell unconscious.

Midna saw Link fall and panicked even more. She tried to drag his limp form to the Bulbo, but couldn't. She finally grabbed him with her hair and stuck him on the Bulbo, slapping it on the rump. The beast howled and charged out the way they had entered, sprinting up the stairs to the prison Auru had spoken of before crashing into a wall.

It shook Link off and ran off.

Midna did her best to tend to Link for the next few hours.

When Link finally stirred, Midna changed him back to human form.

Link sat up groggily.

His head pounded heavily. He supposed it would do that if a heavy wooden pole smacked his head.

He shook his head to clear his blurred vision. Midna sat on his lap and was looking at him intently, and Link noticed a little panic also.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, mostly. My head feels like I just got hit by an Ordon Goat, but other than that-"

"You nearly died! Now you're cracking jokes!" she shouted at him. She was on the verge of tears. Link guessed that he really did mean something to her now.

"You have no idea what it's like, watching someone you care about nearly die!"

Link tried to shush her as gently as she could, but she wouldn't. He really didn't see anything wrong with making some light humor after a near-death experience, but apparently she did.

Finally, when she had closed her eyes to slam her fists on the stone on either side of her, Link simply closed the gap between them and kissed her.

She just sat there, momentarily stunned by this, then relented and deepened the kiss, opening her mouth for him.

After tracing her left fang with his tongue, he pulled back.

She simply went a deep shade of pink and refused to say anything.

"Midna?" he asked, unsure of her emotion.

"What?" she asked, still sounding shaken.

"Thanks for saving my life."

She blushed an even deeper red.

"No problem."

Link chuckled as he remembered something.

"If I remember correctly, didn't you not want to be in a burning building with me when we destroyed Barnes' bomb shack?"

She giggled, lightening the blush and, it seemed to Link, her mood.

"That's true." she said.

She placed a hand on his cheek.

"I guess now we're even?" she asked.

"Nope."

"What!"

"Well, I kissed you to pay you back for saving me, so you still owe me for saving your life."

She seemed mad now. Link just smiled as she ranted about him being a totally ungrateful son of a Bulbin and she just looked so cute there, screaming her head off at him that he kissed her again.

She expected it this time and responded with as much passion as she could.

When they pulled apart, they realized the past time since their raid that morning.

"Is it already night?" Midna wondered aloud as she looked up from in Link's arms.

"It would seem so."

"So, wanna spend the night under the stars?" she asked, cuddling up to him.

"That sounds great." Link said with a smile.

She smiled as she lay her head on his chest while he pulled a small blanket over them as they lay their heads upon a sand pile for a pillow.

"I love you, Link." she mumbled.

"And I love you, Midna." he said, placing a light kiss on her lips before falling asleep under the stars.

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**Thanks for reading, R&R**


End file.
